


Little Mermaid Shance

by Princesjules



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Little Mermaid AU, M/M, Merman Lance, Merman Shiro, merman Keith, near dorwning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 05:23:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15478566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princesjules/pseuds/Princesjules
Summary: When Prince Lance's returns from a diplomatic meeting his ship gets caught in a storm. When the prince gets caught in the rigging he is saved by a beautiful mermaid and becomes infatuated with finding his saviour, no matter the cost.





	1. Chapter 1

It was early when the storm began. It started with dark clouds rolling in and heavy winds pushing them through the waves faster. As it got later the rain started, steadily falling faster and faster until it was falling in sheets. Near midnight was when the bailing began.

  
In his quarters the prince couldn’t sleep, and wished to help. He offered his help to the crew and to the captain, he knew how to sail. He was turned down, because he was the prince and he was not meant to do such hard labour.

It was late, far past midnight when the waves started to toss the ship. Everyone that was not necessary on deck was sent below. Everyone on deck had to tie themselves down to keep from being thrown from the ship. The prince was sent to his quarters to wait out the storm.

Just before daybreak, when the sun would have just been cresting the horizon – if the clouds weren’t blackening the sky – when the ship capsized. A wave had hit it in just the wrong was as to flip it in the roiling sea.

They were closer to shore than anyone knew. They would have before daybreak if the storm had not hit. If they had known the crew would have been saved. But no one knew how close the storm had carried them, so no one knew where to swim – if they were able to even get up from the hull.

Many unlucky souls never made it out, and the prince was one of them. His room was one of the last to fill with water, and the prince resigned himself to his inevitable death in the water he loved so much when it began to flood his room.

Pinned by his trunk of gifts from a neighbouring nation as a sign of peace he was unable to move. Even after he was able to get the trunk off of him he could feel the pressure of the water. He refused to die without trying to escape, he wasn’t a coward and wasn’t going to die hiding.

He pushed himself through the ship, working to avoid all the loose debris. Trying not to get caught up.

He’d barely managed to push himself out of the ship, before his lungs began to burn. He was running out of air. So he pushed harder, hoping to at least get free of the wreck. Give his family the chance to find his body, so they would have closure or something.

The hope of getting to the surface vanished when part of the rigging the prince tried to swim around caught him. His muscles starting to strain from the lack of oxygen in his blood, not giving him enough strength to swim out of the way.

His movements became sluggish as he fought to pull the ropes off, only getting more tangled up in the process. When he could no longer fight, the prince let the air out of his lungs watching the bubbles float towards the surface as he was pulled deeper into the see by his ship.

Consciousness began to fade from the princes mind. His eyes drooping, his lungs reflexively trying to breath again, filling with water. He didn’t have enough strength left to purge it, but he had enough to feel the burning in his chest.

Just before consciousness left him completely the prince saw something. At first it looked like a shark, black fins, long grey body. Then he saw they black and white hair.It swam right up to him, and took his face in it’s webbed hand.

The princes eyes fluttered as the creature leaned closer, interested in the prince. When the princes eyes closed for a little too long the creature leaned in and kissed the prince. Breathing air back into the princes lungs.

Coughing up water the creature helped the prince breath as he worked the ropes free. Though it was difficult with only one webbed hand to work with.

He got the prince free though, but with little energy left the prince passed out on the way to the surface, the creature carrying him to the surface and to the beach. Waiting out the storm to make sure the prince was safe.

Waiting until the sun was high in the sky and until the prince had woken up. Hiding behind a rock when others came to help the prince back to the castle. When the prince was out of sight he vanished back into the waves, hoping to see the man again, but knowing it would never happen – they were from different worlds.

 

 

After being helped back to the castle the prince was laid up in bed with pneumonia for 2 weeks. The whole time he couldn’t get what he saw in the water out of his mind. He didn’t know what he saw, only the colours black and grey, and the shark like body. He remembered the feeling of the hand on his face. He wanted to see them again, to know what had saved him.

The prince told no one about what he saw, what he experienced. He was sure no one would believe him. Would brush it off as a fever dream, or something he made up because he nearly drowned. There was something about it that made the prince sure it was real, because he had been tangled up in the ropes and going down with the ship, but he woke up on dry land.

Eventually, it got to a paint where he couldn’t take it anymore. He had to tell someone, because he needed to see his saviour again. So, he went to his sister.

“Allura, do you have a moment to talk? I need to get something off my chest,” the prince said, when he located his sister the first day he was allowed to leave his room.

“Of course Lance, what’s wrong?” The princess asked, putting a hand on her brother’s shoulder.

The prince looked around, up and down the hallway to make sure they were alone. They were as alone as they could be in a castle preparing for a wedding, his sisters wedding.

“I didn’t survive the wreck on my own. There was something in the water. I don’t know what it was, but it pulled me out of the rigging I got caught up in and saved me from drowning,” The prince explained, keeping his gaze just to the right of his sister, never quite looking her in the eye.

Saying it aloud felt odd. His explanation made him sound like a madman. He was sure no one would believe him.

But, he should have known better when it came to the princess.

“That explains the scales that were found in your clothes and your hair. You found a mermaid Lance... or I suppose she found you,” the princess said with a smile.

“You believe... but...” the prince tried, not expecting that response from his sister; “I want to find her again. To thank her for saving me.”

“I don’t trust that man as far as I could throw him, but he would know what to do,” Allura muttered to herself for a moment, shaking her head at even the thought of sending her brother away again after he had just recovered. But it was the only way. “Go speak to Lotor. I’m sure he knows where the witch lives, but please be careful. He is crafty, and so is the witch.”

Lance all but jumped for joy. He had a way back to the creature that saved him, the mermaid.

Hesitantly the princess gave her brother the information to find Lotor, but insisted that he take someone with him. It was not a safe journey, and she worried that Lotor would take advantage of Lance’s desire and trick him into giving away much more than he got.

Reluctantly he agreed, only to be stopped and told not to bring Pidge – Allura’s fiance. Told that Pidge had lots of work to do to help with the wedding and that he would be gutted if they left with him.

Following those strict orders Lance searched out his life long friend, Hunk, who he found with Pidge putting together a playlist for the wedding.

Getting Hunk without Pidge took a lot of threats and promises, and relaying that Princess Allura would kill him if Pidge stopped working for more than a few minutes. But eventually, after being bribed with promises Lance was able to finally leave with Hunk at his side, and a very grumpy Pidge left to work on their own.

On the way to Lotor Lance told Hunk what happened when the ship sank. Hunk was all for helping Lance reunite with his savour, so long as he didn’t need to sell his soul to a witch in order to do so.

Before they made it to where Allura had said they would find Lotor, he came across their path. As if he was expecting them to arrive. They dismounted their horses and Lance closed the distance.

“So the princess does remember me, but sends her brother instead of coming on her own,” Lotor mused, crossing his arm.

“Allura said you could show us the way to a witch,” Lance said, mirroring Lotor’s position, arms crossed back straight.

“So pretty boy doesn’t really want me. I’m just a means to your end, but what’s in it for me if I bring you to the witch?” Lotor asked; “What is it worth to you to see the witch?”

“What were you hoping to get out of me? Allura may have mentioned that you prefer unconventional means of payment to lead us to the witch,” Lance said, trying to play the player.

“Interesting,” Lotor mused, lip curling up into a smirk; “I want your heart to be mine.”

“Oh darling, my heart already belongs to another. But if you’ll settle for a kiss, I could give you that,” Lance countered, seeing through the game that Lotor was trying to play.

“Deal,” Lotor agreed.

The prince stepped forward and put his hand on Lotor’s jaw, letting his thumb rest just below his lower lip. He closed his eyes halfway and watched as Lotor closed his eyes too, leaning closer. Lance brushed his lips against Lotor’s, like he was going to fall for the trap, before quickly moving sideways to kiss the other mans cheek.

“Nice try, but I don’t fall for tricks that easily. But I followed through with my side of the bargain, so take us to the witch,” Lance said, stepping back.

“You may be a smart on Prince Lance, but let’s see how far that get’s you with the witch. This way,” Lotor said, heading down the road a little ways before ducking into the forest.

Lance hurried back to his horse and followed Lotor while he remained on the path. But there was no way the horses would be able to travel through the brush, it was too thick. So Lance continued with Lotor, while Hunk stayed back to tie up the horses. By the time he was done with the horses and set to follow they were gone.

The witch was not too far from the road, but it was not a travelled path they followed, so without Lotor the prince would have been lose in a second.

“Don’t be a fool. She will play with your heart,” Was the only warning Lotor gave when they reached the witches hut.

When Lance turned to inquire what Lotor meant the man was gone. Lance was alone, and beginning to regret every trying to strike a deal with a witch.

Steeling himself for what was to come with the witch Lance walked up to the door and knocked on the door. A moment later the door flew open, revealing a cloaked figure. She beckoned him inside and headed to a cauldron.

“Prince Lance, I see your call to the sea grows stronger. Is that why you have come?” The witch asked.

“Yes, I want to thank my rescuer. I was in a shipwreck weeks ago and was saved by a creature of the sea,” Lance explained, trying not to say too much.

“Love. You want love with the creature of the sea. You didn’t give your heart to Lotor, because you love another,” the witch said, looking up from the prince and blowing steam off the cauldron into his face.

Lance smiled, breathing in the steam. His mind started to swim a little, causing him to relax a little.

“What will you give up for love? Will you give up your looks?” the witch asked, waiting until the prince was more susceptible to her words and influences.

“Yes,” Lance agreed automatically.

“I will give you fins and the ability to breath below the waves, in exchange for your princely looks. You will have but three days to get a kiss from your undersea love. If you cannot make him fall in love with you in three days your quintessence will be mine,” The witch proposed, pulling out a slip of paper from below her robes.

“Yes,” The prince repeated, taking the pen the witch offered and signed his life away.

The witched gave a chuckle – that should have worried the prince – and put her hands on his face. Lance let out a scream as he the witch maimed his face. Scarring hit entire face and neck. She also maimed his vocal chords, so he could barely speak. She desired his quintessence and would do anything to make sure she got it, under flexible contract terms that is.

“Now dear prince, you have one hour to reach the water or you’ll suffocate. Good luck.”

With a snap of her fingers Lance was back on the trail and pulled out of his daze. Immediately he feared what he gave up and his hands flew to his face and neck. Everything he touched was scarred. He had no idea what he looked like, but he feared the worst.

He gave a look around and spotted Hunk, running towards him. He tried to call out and it came out slightly strangled and painful.

The sound was enough to make Hunk turn around and he looked terrified.

At the sight Lance panicked. Did he really look that bad? Was it really worth it?

“Lance, is that you?” Hunk asked, heading towards him.

The prince went to speak, but couldn’t get the words out. So he just nodded his head and made his way to his best friend.

“What happened to you?” Hunk asked, putting his hands on Lance’s shoulder.

“Water. Need... get to... water,” Lance managed to get out despite the pain.

“Okay. Let’s go,” Hunk said without a second thought.

The ride back to the castle was quiet. Hunk didn’t say much and Lance couldn’t. The whole way back Lance wondered if they’d make it back in time. He wondered if it had all been worth it.

By the time they arrived an hour had elapsed. They’d managed to get to the beach, but not to the water by the time Lance started to transform. He fell from his horse as his legs came together to form a tail, and he began to choke on the air. He felt the same burning in his lungs as he had when he was tangled in the rigging and drowning.

Hunk wasted no time though. Immediately dismounting and scooping Lance up. Before running down the beach to the water so Lance could breath. He wasn’t quick, but it was enough and Hunk got Lance into the waves in time for his friend not to suffocate.

For close to a minute Lance just laid on the sandy bottom of the sea, just taking a moment to breath. Despite the fact that his lungs still burned. He wasn’t drowning, but it sure felt like he was.

When he felt reasonably sure the pain was not going to go away Lance popped his head above the water and waved goodbye to Hunk.

“What should I tell everyone?” Hunk asked, before Lance could swim away.

“Allura only... I’m okay... I love her,” Lance said, before dipping back below the water to breath.

Then he took off. Swimming into the depths of the sea to find his mermaid – his merman.


	2. Chapter 2

Once he was in the water Lance had no idea where to go. He had no idea how to find the mystery mermaid that had saved his life. He hadn’t thought that far. After all, who would have expected he would actually be able to search below the waves.

  


After some mindless swimming into the deeper waters away from the shore Lance decided to look for his sunken ship. He figured it would be at least close to where the mermaid lived, or at least spent time. She was there to save him after all.

  


It took some searching, as he didn’t have an actual position on where the ship ended up going down. He knew a general location from what had been recovered, but the storm had carried things everywhere.

  


Eventually he did find the ship. Deck in the sand, mast snapped. It was still a danger to get too close. The rigging still floated in the water, anchored to the ship laying as a trap for any creature that ventured too close. There was stuff scattered on the ocean floor on every side of the ship which drew Lance’s attention. He wanted to know if any of his belongings survived – just out of curiosity.

  


Not surprisingly there was nothing that belonged to Lance among the debris. But he did find a silver platter that was at least somewhat reflective. He would have ignored it, if he hadn’t caught his reflection in the metal. Doing a double take he finally saw the damage the witch had done to his face.

  


The right side of his face and down his neck to his chest was scarred reminiscent of burns. The left side of his face looked cut to ribbons and crudely stitched back together. He looked hideous. If he didn’t need to find the mermaid to save his life again – as per the agreement he had signed with the witch – he would have hidden. That wasn’t an option though, because despite his looks he wanted to live. So he pushed away the thoughts of his own looks and set out to find the mermaid.

  


He continued to search the wreck, even venturing close to the rigging that had caught him in hopes of finding some sign of the mermaid. And the risk paid off, because he found a couple of scales in the ropes. Two black and one grey, all three of which he grabbed, and went to put into the pocket of pants he no longer wore. So he just held onto them.

  


Suddenly a flash of red caught his attention. Like a fish quickly swam by, but even from the corner of his eye Lance could tell the flash was too big to be just a fish.

  


“...” Lance tried to call out, to ask for help in his search. Nothing came out, the water making it even more difficult to speak. The intense pain in his chest flaring as he tried.

  


He didn’t give up though. If he couldn’t call out he would go investigate. What was the worst that could happen.

  


Clearly he hadn’t anticipated coming over a rock and ending up face to face with a merman who pulled a knife from his hip.

  


“Who are you? And why are you at our claim?” The merman hissed, putting the knife to Lance’s neck and getting in his face.

  


Lance opened his mouth to answer, but no more than bubbles came out, no matter how hard he tried.

  


“Too stupid to answer?” The merman hissed, baring it’s teeth.

  


Immediately Lance shook his head, hoping the gesture translated under the water. It seemed to, because the red merman pulled back a little. Giving the prince the chance to lift his chin and point to the scars down his neck.

  


“Keith, calm down. He’s harmless,” Another voice said, coming from around the rock Lance had come over. The other merman swam over and put his left hand on Keith’s wrist, pushing his knife away from Lance’s throat.

  


“But Shiro. I’ve never seen him before, and he was poking around the ship. We can’t loose another claim,” Keith said, keeping his weapon out.

  


Lance took the moment without the attention focused on him to look at the two mermen before him. The first, Keith, had a red tail and his exposed torso was covered with scars. He couldn’t tell which were from weapons or claws, but there was a clear bite to his left side. His long black hair floated like a halo around his head.

  


The second, Shiro was black and grey. He too had scars on his torso, he could only see the mer’s back, but it looked bad. He was also missing his right arm, just above the elbow. And once Lance noticed the missing limb it was all he could focus on. TO the point where he missed Shiro turning to face him.

  


“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Shiro said when he saw Lance checking out his arm; “I’d give up my other arm too if it meant keeping Keith by my side.”

  


The prince at least had the decency to blush and look away, looking up towards the surface.

  


“What happened to you? I’ve never seen scarring like this on another mer before,” Shiro asked, resting his left hand on Lance’s jaw touching the burn like scars.

  


Lance opened his mouth, but no sound came out again. So, he put his hand on his throat trying to gesture that he wasn’t able to speak.

  


“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize. Can you not speak?” Shiro asked, backing off.

  


Lance shook his head and looked down.

  


“What’s in your hand?” Keith snapped lashing out and grabbing Lance by the wrist and forcing his grip open. Making Lance drop the scales he had gotten off the rope. “Where did you get Shiro’s scales?”

  


Lance just pointed over his shoulder at the ship. He wished he could just speak, could just explain what he was thinking. Could explain why he had the scales. Could explain who he was and why he was there. But he couldn’t, so he had to come up with something creative.

  


“Keith, relax,” Shiro insisted, pulling the red merman off of Lance and putting himself between the two; “It’s fine. I lost a few scales rescuing the land prince a couple weeks ago. It happens and I’m doing just fine. Three scales is nothing off my fin.”

  


Lance lit up at that. It wasn’t a mermaid at all who had saved him. It was Shiro. The broad man protecting him from a friend, was the shark seeming mermaid that had rescued him two weeks earlier.

  


Trying to communicate the prince tapped Shiro’s shoulder and pointed to himself. Hoping he could get across that it was him that Shiro had rescued.

  


Shiro just looked confused. While Keith huffed and swam off.

  


“You deal with the mute then. I’m going to pull more from the ship,” Keith called as he made his was back towards the sunken ship.

  


Shiro opened his mouth to scold Keith, but thought better of it and rolled his eyes instead. Focusing on Lance.

  


“I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me. What about you?” Shiro asked, confused as to why the blue tailed Merman in front of him was pointing incessantly at his own chest.

  


Lance scrunched his face, trying to come up with more gestures to get his point across. His brilliant plan was to to act it out.

  


He used his fingers to simulate legs, walking along his hand and then created a circle with his hands and put it on his head like a crown.

  


“The land prince? Yes, I saved him. He nearly drowned caught in the rigging of his own ship,” Shiro answered.

  


Then Lance pointed at himself, and did the other two gestures. Trying to get across that that was him.

  


“You and the land Prince? What about you two?” Shiro asked, not quite getting it.

  


Lance rolled his eyes, wishing he had some language. Wishing it didn’t hurt to breath. Wishing he had just stayed on the land, so he could see his sisters get married.

  


“Me...” Lance managed to get out. Trying to shout through the pain it came out as barely more than a whisper.

  


In an instant Shiro recognized the voice. The hoarse voice of the land prince he had saved after others had come to help him. Vocal chords aching from the salt water he had breathed in.

  


The land prince had grown a tail and was in his ocean. The land prince was scarred all down his face and neck, right in front of him. The land prince he had been in love with since he first spotted him learning to sail.

  


The land prince had joined him in the ocean.

  


“You?” Shiro asked, skeptical and Lance’s face lit up. Shiro lit up too and threw his arm around Lance’s shoulder and began to spin them in a little circle. Something he had seen the land princess do to the girl in green many a time on the beach; “You!”

  


Without a second thought he pressed a kiss to the prince’s lips, like he had two weeks earlier when he kept the prince alive. This time the prince was able to breath all on his own though, which made it that much sweeter.

  


Lance threw his arms around Shiro’s waist, afraid he would change back.

  


“I’ve seen you ride the waves before. Why have you come below?” Shiro asked, opening his eyes and gasping. “It really is you.”

  


Shiro put his hand back on Lance’s cheek, and just from the touch alone Lance could tell the scars were gone.

  


“It is,” Lance said, and to his astonishment the words were clear.

  


He had a moment of happieness before the fear set in. The witch said nothing about what would happen if he got the kiss, only what would happen if he didn’t. So he feared he would start to drown.

  


“What’s wrong?” Shiro asked, seeing the fear in Lance’s eyes.

  


“I don’t want to drown again,” Lance said softly, scared that he would change back and drown, but terrified that he would have to leave Shiro.

  


“I didn’t let you drown before, and I won’t let you drown now,” Shiro replied, and kissed lance again.

  


Lance just wrapped his arms around Shiro and held on for dear life. As time passed Lance’s tail separated back into two legs and his need for air returned. His lungs burned, and Shiro kissed him again to help him breath, before swimming the both of them up to the surface so the prince would not drown.

  


It took another two breaths before Shiro got them to the surface, and when he did Lance felt awful. He had gone through so much trouble to find Shiro, and he had no choice but to leave. He would die if he stayed below the sea. He made a deal with the witch, just to have his heart broken.

  


“I’m sorry. I should have just stayed on land where I belong,” Lance said, swimming away from Shiro. He felt bad for even searching Shiro out. He didn’t belong under the sea. The storm taught him that he didn’t belong on the sea either. Maybe he should have just kept his feet on the land.

  


“For what? You came to my home. You risked your life just to see me again. I got to meet you land prince. I just wish I didn’t have to say goodbye. Will you allow me to swim you back to shore?” Shiro asked.

  


“I think that’d be okay,” Lance said, getting a little choked up as tears started to pool in his eyes. He ducked his head back into the water and pushed his hair off his face to distract from the tears that began to fall. “But there’s no real need to rush.”

  


“Of course not,” Shiro agreed.

  


The merman took the prince’s hand, and together they slowly made there way back shore. To the beach where Shiro had left Lance, where he had sat and watched Lance walk along the shore before.

  


It was close to dusk when the finally reached shore, and neither wanted to part ways. But the water was too shallow for Shiro to stay for too long, and Lance was getting a little water logged himself.

  


“Will I see you again?” Lance asked, worried that the answer might be a no.

  


“If you’d like to,” Shiro replied, with the brightest smile Lance had ever seen.

  



	3. Chapter 3

Everyday for the next week Lance met Shiro on the beach just after lunch. They would spend the afternoon swimming. Shiro couldn’t stay in the shallow water for long, so they had to swim far from the shore which gave them privacy.

  


The hardest part of every day was when Lance had to head back to shore. When they had to part ways. When Lance had to go home alone and watch Shiro swim back out to sea.

  


Allura noticed almost as soon as Lance returned that her brother was not happy. She saw the way he looked every day when he left to go swim with Shiro. How happy he was, nearly bouncing out of his seat while they ate lunch.

  


She also noticed how empty he looked when he would return from his swims. Hair dried in crazy patterns, held in place by the salt. The princess saw how slowly he ate his dinner, and seemed to disappear the second he could be excused.

  


The jovial boy who was chomping at the bit to help with wedding preparations before his trip was gone. The prince was hollow when he wasn’t in the water. It broke Allura’s heart, but she didn’t know what she could do to help.

  


Nine days after Lance had struck the deal with the witch, and met Shiro he was held back from going to see the merman after lunch. His father, King Alfor, grabbed him by the shoulder as he tried to race off the second he was excused. Lance didn’t protest, knowing it was no use to fight his father.

  


“Lance, you have had a fitting for your suit today. You’ve been neglecting it for a week and your sister’s wedding is fast approching. You can not put it off any longer. If I hear you have missed it again I will be deeply disappointed. As a prince you have duties, and you have been neglecting them. I gave you some leway after your trip, because of what happened, but I expect you to get back to your duties,” King Alfor said, and Lance just slumped.

  


He’d been trying his best. Every morning he had attended his classes, and he would do as much work in the evenings as he could before he crashed. He was only one person, and he couldn’t disappoint Shiro.

  


It wasn’t like he could just not show up to the beach without a word. Lance was sure if he didn’t show up then Shiro would stop coming around. And he couldn’t have that, he loved the merman.

  


But Lance also couldn’t disappoint his father. He had his duties, and he knew being selfish was not a luxury he was allowed to have.

  


So, he quietly nodded and went in search of Hunk. Someone had to go apologize to Shiro if he couldn’t go.

  


“Please Hunk. I’m supposed to be there soon. If I’m not then Shiro will leave and he’ll think the worst of me. But my dad thinks I’m slacking, so I can’t go,” Lance begged when he found his friend. Tears welling in his eyes at the thought of disappointing anyone.

  


“Why don’t you just tell your dad all that? Why don’t you tell him that you love Shiro? You do love him don’t you?” Hunk asked, putting a hand on Lance’s shoulder, before pulling him into a comforting hug instead.

  


“Of course, but what will he think of me then? He’ll think I’ve lost my mind. Mermaids, and mermen are just supposed to be a myth,” Lance cried into Hunk’s shoulder, giving up trying to hold a Princly demenor in favour of being vulnerable with his friend.

  


“Then show him. Take him down to the water with you and introduce him to Shiro. DO something, because this is going to tear you apart if you don’t take care of it,” Hunk said; “I’ll go tell Shiro that you’ve got a lot to do today, but you can’t keep this from your dad.”

  


“Thank you Hunk,” Lance said, giving his friend one last squeeze before he had to head off. He didn’t want Shiro to wait too long for Hunk, and Lance had to be fitted for a suit for Allura’s wedding – as if he didn’t have enough formal wear already.

  


Shiro was waiting by his rock. The water was deep enough for him to spend a little time in without worrying about drying up, and it was close enough to the shore that Lance could see him.

  


When Lance wasn’t on time Shiro got a little worried. He figured Lance just got caught up a little with his duties as the Land Prince. He was sure Lance would be there shortly to see him.

  


Before he saw Lance another man came along the beach alone. Shiro recognized him as Lance’s friend, but had never caught the man’s name.

  


Shiro didn’t want to seen though, so he ducked behind the rock and watched the man. Watched as he pulled his shoes off and rolled up his pants. Then watched as the man waded knee deep into the water and groaned as the sea water lapped at his pants.

  


“Damn it Lance. I don’t know how to find your boyfriend,” The man grumbled, and Shiro’s heart sunk.

  


Lance had a boyfriend? Maybe that was where he was. Spending time with his boyfriend instead of swimming with Shiro. It made sense that the prince would find a love on land, but that didn’t make the ache in his heart hurt less.

  


“Shiro!” The man shouted suddenly, surprising the merman.

  


How did the man know his name? Lance had told Shiro that he hadn’t told anyone on land about them. He said it was because no one would believe him, that mermen were real.

  


“I know you don’t know me!” The man shouted again, before rolling his eyes; “Lance sent me with a message! If you haven’t already left, that is.”

  


The last bit was muttered, but Shiro was listening to the man so it wasn’t hard to hear. And hearing that Lance sent him Shiro came out from around the rock. He couldn’t get quite as shallow as the man was, but he got as close as he felt safe and flipped his fin to get the man’s attention.

  


“Shiro?” The man asked, and the merman nodded pushing his upper body out of the water as much as possible; “Okay. Lance is sorry, but he can’t make it for a swim today. His dad’s being a bit of a hard ass and he has to catch up on work for his sisters wedding. He said to tell you that he will try to come out tomorrow to swim with you. And to make sure that you know he’s really sorry, and wishes he could be out in the water with you.”

  


Shiro smiled at the man and flipped his tail, hoping that conveyed that he understood. He could spend time above water, but he couldn’t speak. It made talking to Lance a challenge, but they managed. It was a little inconveniant when dealing with other humans though.

  


“I guess that means you understand,” The man said, before slowly backing out of the water, before remembering he forgot to introduce himself; “I’m Hunk by the way. Lance’s friend.”

  


Shiro chuckled to himself and lowered himself back into the water to wave at Hunk. It took a moment, but Hunk waved back taken aback by the gesture.

  


When Hunk was out of the water Shiro headed back to his rock to watch the man leave. Then with a heavy heart he headed back home – to the sunken ship. He was torn, confused by the mention of Lance’s boyfriend, and hoping that he would get a chance to swim with the land prince the next mid-day.

  


After having his suit tailored Lance was all but dragged to his fathers office to work. King Alfor apparently did not trust Lance to get any work done on his own. Lance felt awful that his dad din’t trust him, but he felt worse that he didn’t get a chance to see Shiro.

  


He pushed through it though. He had to impress his father with his work if he wanted to visit Shiro. He had to show his father he could get work done.

  


With determination he was able to finish all his work early. He had anticipated needing to work until dark to do what his father wanted him to do, and he was a little proud of himself for getting it all done.

  


It also gave him time to go see Allura, who was relaxing with Pidge. They were talking about wedding stuff, but stopped when Lance walked into the room.

  


“You look rough,” Pidge commented as Lance sat down across from them.

  


“Dad just had me working all afternoon,” Lance sighed, pulling his knees to his chest.

  


He felt bad for not going to see Shiro, and he hadn’t heard from Hunk yet, so he was worried. He hoped Shiro wasn’t upset, and he hoped he’d be waiting for him the following day.

  


“Lance, I have a novel idea. Why don’t you just talk to dad? Tell him you have a merman boyfriend you want to see. Wouldn’t that be easier than just disappearing every afternoon? That way he doesn’t think you’re slacking off,” Allura suggested.

  


“First of all, Shiro is not my boyfriend. And second of all, what happens if dad tells me I can’t see Shiro? He’s from the sea and dad’s been insistent I stay away from the water since the storm,” Lance mumbled into his knees, barely talking loud enough to be heard.

  


“Because going behind Dad’s back has been going so well for you Lance, why not try honesty? He could help. He has more power than we do, so it’s worth a shot,” Allura said, having no sympathy for her brother.

  


“Help with what?” King Alfor asked from the doorway.

  


Lance jumped and nearly fell off the couch. While Allura and Pidge just got up and walked out of the room, not wanting to be in the middle of that conversation.

  


“Nothing dad. Really. It’s not important. I should go get ready for dinner,” Lance hurried, scrambling to his feet and trying to run out of the room. He didn’t get three steps before Alfor grabbed him by the shoulder and stopped him dead in his tracks.

  


“Let’s try again Lance. This time don’t lie. Help with what?” King Alfor tried again, hand tight on Lance’s bicep to keep him still.

  


“Allura thinks you can help me with... a boy,” Lance sighed as he spoke, not wanting to be saying any of that. But without another option Lance opened up a little; “He’s the reason I’ve been taking off after lunch every day. I go swim with him.”

  


“Of all the things Lance. I asked you to stay away from the water,” Alfor sighed, more disappointed that the one rule he had set since the storm.

  


“It’s the only way I can see him dad. He’s a merman,” Lance said, voice getting soft barely above a whisper by the end of it; “And I think I love him.”

  


King Alfor was quiet for a long time. He didn’t know how to respond to his son admitting he was in love with someone.

  


“Will you introduce him to me tomorrow? I might be able to come up with something to help before then,” The king said.

  


“Okay, thank you dad.”

  



	4. Chapter 4

Lance didn’t go to breakfast the next morning. He was so nervous about introducing his dad to Shiro. Especially after telling his dad that he loved Shiro, but had yet to tell Shiro that. 

And it wasn’t like he could just go ahead of his dad and talk to Shiro early, because they met at the same time every day and he had no way of asking to meet the merman earlier in the day to talk. 

The prince was trying his best not to panic, but couldn’t help it. He was nervous, and trying to do anything else was nearly impossible. He couldn’t focus what so ever. 

By the time lunch rolled around Lance was no more prepared, but he was hungry. The only way he was going to get to see Shiro was taking his father with him, and he didn’t want to stand the man up two days in a row. 

He didn’t eat a whole lot at lunch either, his nerves getting the best of him. So he just pushed his food around his plate, not terribly hungry.

“Lance, are you done?” King Alfor asked after watching his son poke at his plate of food for ten minutes. 

“Yea, let’s go,” Lance said, setting down his fork and heading for the door. 

King Alfor followed his son a few steps back, letting him lead the way. He knew Lance was worried about how things would go when they reached the water.

The whole walk had Lance freaking out. He wanted to run ahead of his father to the water and disappear into the waves with Shiro before he father ever caught up. That wouldn’t really work though, because he would have to come back to land eventually, and his father would probably not let him see Shiro for a long time if he did that. So instead he kept his pace and stayed a handful of steps ahead of his father. 

“I’m going to go get Shiro. I’ll be back in a moment,” Lance said once they reached the beach, and began stripping his royal attire off. He stripped right down to his boxers and waded into the water. 

When Shiro saw Lance walk down the beach he was elated, and almost made his way to their meeting spot right away. But then he saw someone walking behind his land prince, so he stayed put out of fear. 

He watched Lance strip and talk to the man who had followed him, before wading into the waves. Shiro was still wary, so he stayed in his hiding spot behind the rock. Lance would know where to find him, he’d admitted to spending time there watching people before. 

When Lance came around the rock the smile that crossed the prince’s face made up for not getting to see him the day before. And feeling Lance in his arm once again made everything better. 

After they embraced Shiro ducked below the water, and Lance followed suit quickly wanting to hear what Shiro had to say.

“I missed you so much, and I met your friend Hunk. He seems really nice, but he didn’t seem to be a fan of the water too much. What happened yesterday? AND who followed you today?” Shiro asked, gesturing to the beach. 

They went back up to the surface so Lance could reply. It made things difficult, but they had learned to manage. 

“I missed you too. And I’m really sorry about yesterday, but Hunk is a great guy, great friend. My dad wanted me to work on all the work he thinks I was slacking off of while spending days swimming with you. But on the plus side he wants to meet you now, so he’s waiting for us on the beach,” Lance rambled, until Shiro cut him off by tugging him back under the water. 

“I’d love to meet him, but first I want to ask you about something Hunk said yesterday while he was looking for me. Do you have a boyfriend that I’ve been keeping you from? Because I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to take up so much time if you have other people you need to see,” Shiro said. 

“No, hunk must have the wrong impression. I think he was talking about you, but I will make sure to tell him that we’re not dating. Just so that doesn’t happen again,” Lance said, heart sinking as he spoke because he wanted to be Shiro’s boyfriend. 

Before Lance even had a second more to think – or take another breath – Shiro pulled him under the water. 

“If you’re single then I’d love to be your boyfriend. I was thinking last night about how much it bothered me thinking you had a boyfriend I was keeping you from. So...” Shiro trailed off.

Lance was caught of guard, and couldn’t really breath. But instead of heading for the surface he pulled himself closer to the merman and kissed him, hoping that was answer enough. Kissing Shiro, it didn’t matter how much his lungs burned from lack of oxygen, he was with the love of his life. 

Not wanting to drown his boyfriend Shiro swam them up to the surface, but didn’t let Lance go. 

“We should go. My dad’s waiting on the beach,” Lance said breathlessly with his forehead pressed against Shiros. 

“I need to make a good first impression now. So let’s go,” Shiro said, though neither of them moved not wanting to let go of each other. 

After a long moment Shiro slowly started to move them from behind the rock. When they were more out in the open Lance let go and lead the way towards the shore. Stopping when he was able to stand because he knew Shiro couldn’t go much farther without getting in danger. 

He waved his father out into the water, and to his surprise the king actually stripped down and walked out into the water to where they were. Not wanting to have to yell across the beach. 

“Dad, this is Shiro,” Lance introduced, hand around Shiro’s back to help keep him upright; “Shiro, this is my father, King Alfor.”

Shiro offered his webbed hand to King Alfor, relying on Lance to keep him from falling face first back into the water. The water was too shallow to use his fin because he would just kick up sand, and without his other arm he couldn’t easily keep his balance.

“It’s nice to meet you Shiro,” King Alfor greeted, shaking the merman’s hand. 

Shiro wanted to be polite and to reply, but had no way to. He couldn’t expect the king to bob in the water like he and Lance did to talk, so he just remained silent by Lance’s side. 

“So, um... you’ve met him now. Can we go swim?” Lance asked, nervous about what his father would say, and what his father thought of Shiro. 

“I just have one question for this young man first,” King Alfor said, keeping his attention on Shiro; “What are my intentions with my son?”

Both Lance and Shiro’s jaws dropped. No one had anticipated that question as the first thing asked. 

“He can’t talk dad. Not above the water,” Lance said, trying to get rid of his father before things got too serious.

“Then how do you two communicate with each other?” The king asked. 

Shiro decided to just show him, by going below the water and reached out to tug on the king’s wrist to get him to duck under the waves. It took a moment, but the king understood and crouched down to come face to face with Shiro under the water, while Lance just stared at the two of them.

“I care for him deeply. From the first moment I saw him when he was going down with that ship I knew I had to do something. I’ve watched him on the beach for a while, and when he went sailing I followed the ships to make sure he would be okay. I feel drawn to him in a way I don’t yet understand, but I’d like to. And I hope you’ll allow us to still spend time together, but I understand if you’d prefer him keep his focus on land. I just want Lance to be happy, and I really hope that he’s happiest with me,” Shiro said, laying his whole heart out for the King, so there was no doubt in his intentions. 

King Alfor nodded and stood back up to breath. Shiro stayed under the water a little while longer, to collect himself before facing Lance again. 

“That young man cares for you deeply Lance. And I have seen how being apart from him tears you apart. And as much as it pains me to do so, because I’d be losing you, I cannot in good conscience keep you from your happiness,” King Alfor said, laying his hand on hos son’s shoulder. 

“What are you saying dad?” Lance asked confused. 

Shiro surfaced, just in time for the king to reply. 

“I’m saying that if you truly wish you can stay in the water. Your whole life you have been drawn to the water, and now I know why. You are destined to bring our worlds together,” The king said. 

The man closed his eyes and bowed his head, before muttering a few words. Lance’s eyes fell closed and he felt heat radiating from his chest. The heat travelled up his neck before vanishing. Then the heat returned, swirling around his legs. 

When he opened his eyes again his legs had returned to being the brilliant blue fin. But unlike before with the witches magic there was no pain. 

He fell back into the water, unable to keep himself upright. There was a moment of panic when he breathed in the water, but there was no pain. He was a merman. 

King Alfor knelt down below the water and was nearly tackled by Lance. 

“Thank you. Thank you. A thousand times thank you,” Lance shouted, hugging his father. 

The king stood up, still hugging his son tightly so he could speak too; “Now you can be a part of both worlds. And I still expect you to attend your sister wedding.”

“We’ll be there,” Lance agreed, before swimming over to Shiro. 

He took the other merman’s hand and they swam off. Finally able to be together. Without pain or worry of loosing each other, or having to stay near the surface so Lance could breath. They could finally start their lives together, below the waves.


End file.
